The aftermath of the Tolaga Bay storm last June, which Dame Anne Salmond says highlighted New Zealand's poor forestry practices. File picture by Liam Clayton
Ten East Coast forestry companies charged with causing flood-borne debris damage in Tolaga Bay and surrounding areas have all entered not-guilty pleas in the Gisborne District Court.
It is the first time the companies have appeared in court since being charged by the Gisborne District Council with breaching their resource
consent conditions.
An estimated 1,000,000 tonnes of logs and debris was left strewn on properties and roads during two bouts of heavy rainfall in June last year.
Tolaga Bay was the worst hit and three companies that operate there - Hikurangi Forest Farms, Ernslaw One and PF Olsen - were among the ten charged, RNZ reported.
The other companies are DNS Forest Products, South Pacific Forestry Holdings, Permanent Forestry, A&R Logging, Logic Forest Solutions, Juken New Zealand and Timbergrow Limited.
